April 26th - Count Stenbock's Grave

[Evans]

But a few flowers, just a few
upon my grave, that I may see
That you sometimes thought on me
who never cease to think on you

Oh, it is dark, and dank and drear
Dismal and dreadful underground,
where the wind sighs unpityingly around,
And the rain falls not softly like a tear
​

- excerpt from 'All Souls Even' from The Shadow of Death: poems, songs, and sonnets

To day is the anniversary of the passing of Count Eric Stenbock. I finally made that trip to find his grave...

(I hope this is not over stepping the bounds and seeming too arrogant. I felft I either had to do absolutely nothing or something colourfully over the top)

​

 

[hopfrog]

I have yet to read any of his books, and I ache to read a biography.

 

[Freyasfire]

Oh, it looks so rundown and forlorn! And sadly, I don't even sense a former decadence about it.

 

[Soukesian]

Wasn't there some talk of a fund to get the monument restored?

 

[tartarusrussell]

The grave actually looks tidier than when I was there last (when the cross was still standing, albeit festooned in ivy.) I'm really pleased you found it Dan. The good Count would have approved.
All the best,
Ray

 

[The New Nonsense]

I have yet to read any of his books, and I ache to read a biography.

Stenbocks biography, Stenbock, Yeats, and the Nineties by John Adlard (1969) is a rather bloodless read. You'd think it would be impossible to make a bio of Stenbock boring. However, somehow Adlard succeeded. Stenbock is far overdue for a new biography. Hopefully his future biographer will have a bit more panache.

 

[mark_samuels]

I pray nightly for a proper Stenbock biography.

Thanks for posting the photo of the grave, Dan! It's the closest I've come (as you know) to the real thing...

Mark S.

 

[Evans]

Thanks everyone, (finaly something of interest to do near where I live)

The grave actually looks tidier than when I was there last (when the cross was still standing, albeit festooned in ivy.) I'm really pleased you found it Dan. The good Count would have approved.
All the best,
Ray

I pray nightly for a proper Stenbock biography.

Thanks for posting the photo of the grave, Dan! It's the closest I've come (as you know) to the real thing...

Mark S.

Thanks fellows, (I'm glad Woodvale Cemetery was suitably picturesque and Victorian looking what with the lodge gates and carriage drive - it would have been really anti-climatic to have found it was just like an open field with all regular sized monuments.

Wasn't there some talk of a fund to get the monument restored?

I think there has been talk of one for a while. I don't think it ever came to anything though. It's a shame - given the Brighton connection you would think there might be more interest. You'd think they could do something like a print on demand paper of his poems and use some of that money to start a fund.

Oh, it looks so rundown and forlorn! And sadly, I don't even sense a former decadence about it.

I have yet to read any of his books, and I ache to read a biography.

Wilum I assume you have seen:
A Secret Kept - The Life of Eric, Count Stenbock
and courtesy of Mr Russell:
http://freepages.pavilion.net/tartarus/stenbock.htm

If you plan to use the library systems to try to get hold of Stenbock (did you say you were thinking of doing that Freyasfire?) look out for the Garland Press edition of Studies of Death: Romantic Tales - apparantly it also contains quite a number of the later poems.

 

[Freyasfire]

If you plan to use the library systems to try to get hold of Stenbock (did you say you were thinking of doing that Freyasfire?) look out for the Garland Press edition of Studies of Death: Romantic Tales - apparantly it also contains quite a number of the later poems.

Good memory Evans! Yes, I actually did manage to get a hold of a copy of that Garland Press edition through interlibrary loan. It actually contains two whole facsimile volumes of Stenbock's work: The Shadow of Death and Studies of Death, so it was a good find. Unfortunately, I was not able to track down any of the Durtro editions that way, but one day I will probably order them, as they frequently turn up for sale online. The only thing is, while I don't have a problem with spending large sums of money on books, I do tend to hesitate on spending upwards of $50 on such slim volumes. That is why I still haven't acquired a copy of Ligotti's The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein & Other Gothic Tales although I am desperate to read it!

 

[Evans]

If you plan to use the library systems to try to get hold of Stenbock (did you say you were thinking of doing that Freyasfire?) look out for the Garland Press edition of Studies of Death: Romantic Tales - apparantly it also contains quite a number of the later poems.

Good memory Evans! Yes, I actually did manage to get a hold of a copy of that Garland Press edition through interlibrary loan. It actually contains two whole facsimile volumes of Stenbock's work: The Shadow of Death and Studies of Death, so it was a good find. Unfortunately, I was not able to track down any of the Durtro editions that way, but one day I will probably order them, as they frequently turn up for sale online. The only thing is, while I don't have a problem with spending large sums of money on books, I do tend to hesitate on spending upwards of $50 on such slim volumes. That is why I still haven't acquired a copy of Ligotti's The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein & Other Gothic Tales although I am desperate to read it!

Cool, glad you found that one too. (Garland also done a rather nice reprint of The Stone Dragon and Other Tragic Romances by R.M. Gilchrist)
I know that a few years ago Durtro were thinking of putting together a Collected Stenbock which would contain all the stories and poems Durtro had previusly published. I don't know if it's still on the cards - presumably it would come out from Coptic Cat now.

 

[Freyasfire]

Ah, that would be lovely, I would buy that edition in a heartbeat! I hope that one day David does end up publishing it, under Coptic Cat or any other imprint he is using at the time, but with him, I know it is not a good idea to get one's hopes up for things done quickly!

 

[Evans]

Not at all related to Stenbock but since we are on the subject of Decadent Poets and ruined grave stones I thought this might be appropriate:

The site owner and a few other individuals have started a fund to repair the gravestone of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Dowson. They hope to have the new marker up by early August:

They are not long, the days of Wine and Roses​

 

[MadsPLP]

I have yet to read any of his books, and I ache to read a biography.

Stenbocks biography, Stenbock, Yeats, and the Nineties by John Adlard (1969) is a rather bloodless read. You'd think it would be impossible to make a bio of Stenbock boring. However, somehow Adlard succeeded. Stenbock is far overdue for a new biography. Hopefully his future biographer will have a bit more panache.

Thanks a lot. I've been considering buying it for years, but the high price has prevented me. One less thing to bother about then.

I agree with Mark Samuels that the Garland Press edition (from the 1980's) is worth picking up from the library. That being said, most of the poems are not very good, and neither are most of the stories. Still, I'm very glad I read it.

The best I've read by Stenbock is the stuff that wasn't published when he was alive. But for some reason, his stories and poems do have a compelling quality, a staying power which few writers have.

 

[starrysothoth]

Who currently holds the rights to Stenbock's work? I'm doubtful it's in the public domain, or you would probably see his content online.

 

[Evans]

Who currently holds the rights to Stenbock's work? I'm doubtful it's in the public domain, or you would probably see his content online.

No everything published in his lifetime is public domain, it's just that no one has bothered to put them up online. The only ones you can find on the net are The Other Side: A Breton Legend and The True Story of a Vampire mostly, I suspect, because they have been included in a few mass market werewolf and vampire story anthologies. If people want I'll post the full text of the poem I quoted at the begining of the thread.